Of Pride and Princes
by Gaaraxluvr
Summary: Ouran's Prince challenges Seigaku's to a battle for the ages.  Which school will come out on top?  It's a fight between tennis and hosting.  R&R
1. Chapter 1

**"Of Pride and Princes"**

**An Ouran/Prince of Tennis Crossover**

Story Intro: Ouran's Prince challenges Seigaku's to a battle for the ages. Which school will come out on top? It's a fight between tennis and hosting. R&R

DISCLAIMER: None of the characters of Prince of Tennis or Ouran High School Host Club belong to me. If they did, this would not be a fanfic, it would be an animated movie, and I would be living off of the royalties instead of posting this to . Thank you.

**Chapter 1: The Two Teams Gather**

Tamaki's Title: A Glorious Battle of Perseverance and Manly Charm Begins

Haruhi's Title: These Stupid Rich People Need to Get Over Themselves

Momoshiro's Title: I'm Starting to Think Seigaku Should Have a Host Club

Ryuuzaki's Title: This is the Beginning of a Migrane

* * *

><p>The Seigaku regulars, along with Inui and Ryuuzaki-sensei were standing outside of an ornately gilded fence that led onto the campus of Ouran, an academy for "rich and talented youths." The large clock tower located on the central of the grounds struck a deep chord, sending a spray of white doves into the air.<p>

Momoshiro looked questioningly at Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"So why exactly are we playing a match here again?" This school isn't even in the All-Japan league. What's the point?"

Ryuuzaki stared ahead with her arms crossed. She was too ashamed to admit the answer. Ouran academy was true to its reputation: a school that prided itself in being "the best of the best". They were also incredibly wealthy. A few days earlier she'd received word from her boss that Seigaku had been offered an obnoxiously large sum if their tennis team would play a publicity match against Ouran's. It was enough to mean Seigaku could afford to renovate all of their facilities…and also give a nice bonus to all the teachers…

Before this, Ryuuzaki had never heard of Ouran or their tennis organization. She figured they must have an elite private program and be very confident in their team to pay so much just for publicity. However, other sources had informed her that the exact opposite was true. Apparently Ouran actually had little to no tennis team at all. It seemed like all that would come out of this would be public humiliation for the giant academy. Still, she thought there must be some sort of ulterior motive present. Whoever it was at Ouran that had cooked up this match, she was sure they had something carefully planned.

"Don't worry about that," Ryuuzaki replied, "Just focus on winning your respective matches and stay on your best behavior."

The Seigaku regulars nodded in reply, and headed through the gateway.

* * *

><p>When Haruhi walked into the unused music room for the day's host club activities, she knew that things were going to get interesting. Instead of the room's usual setup, the expensive tables, sofas, and tea sets had been replaced by a referee stand, tennis nets, and tons of multi-colored racquets.<p>

Off in the corner Honey was balanced on Mori's shoulders. They were both dressed in polo shirts with sweat bands covering their foreheads. A machine that was designed to shoot baseballs was spewing out tennis balls at the pair instead.

Honey was yelling "Wai! So fun!"

Mori just seemed to be trying to make sure none of the balls hit Honey. Whatever tennis balls they missed flew into the wall on the other side of the room, often breaking expensive-looking vases or other furniture that had been put off to the side.

Hikaru and Kaoru were standing in the center of the room in similar tennis garb. They seemed to be re-enacting a scene from that horrid movie Renge had produced for a crowd of star-struck female customers.

Tamaki was in the far back corner talking to Kyouya who was writing on his clipboard as usual. When he spotted her, he commenced the usual greeting.

"Haruhiiii!" He was across the room in an instant, arms stretched out to lock Haruhi in a rib-crushing embrace. She sighed, stepping out of the way. Tamaki crashed into the wall behind her.

Tamaki turned around, unfazed.

"Oh Haruhi! Papa's so happy to see you! Here, Here! Try this on!"

He shoved a bright pink polo tee at her with matching pink tennis shoes, sweat band, and racquet.

Haruhi sweat dropped. "Sempai, we've been over this before. If you make me wear women's clothes, I'll have to leave the Host Club."

Suddenly a cold wind came out of nowhere. Tamaki was frozen dramatically like a statue, tear droplets pouring from his eyes.

Haruhi sighed again in annoyance. Kyouya appeared behind her, handing over the appropriate tennis uniform the others were wearing.

"So," Haruhi asked, "Why tennis? What on earth does this have to do with hosting?"

Tamaki's eyes gleamed. She got the sense he'd been hoping she'd ask that.

"Ooh, poor Haruhi. Surely I thought you would be able to understand the lovely artfulness of sportly men. Truely, what could be more romantic or youthful than embracing the heat of the moment in a challenge to test one's speed, stamina, power, and will to persevere in the face of an opponent!" Tamaki struck various theatrical posed throughout the explanation, "What woman could possibly withstand the dazzling charm discharged as two rivals in that heated moment battle each other, only one destined to become the winner? Who cannot love to savor the bliss filled moment upon arriving at the top, being proudly able to declare that it was won by the sweat of one's brow? To stand with one's team-mates at that pinnacle! To proclaim, VICTORY!"

Tamaki ended with a climactic stance, Hikaru and Kaoru applauding him.

"Uh…sempai," Haruhi moaned, "Aren't you forgetting an important detail?"

He looked at her blankly.

"If you're trying to immerse us in 'shining victory', don't we need someone to play against?"

"Actually," Kyouya interjected, "Surprisingly enough, Tamaki actually did think through to this point. Since Ouran doesn't have its own tennis team for us to play, we've hired one from another school. It's one of the most highly ranked in our region called Seishun Gakuen, or Seigaku"

"Uh…but where are we going to be playing? Since we don't have a tennis team, we don't have tennis courts either."

Kyouya smirked, "Oh really?"

He pointed out one of the windows. Sure enough, there was a brand new state-of-the-art looking tennis court right outside. It was even surrounded by fountains and fully grown cherry blossom trees for landscaping.

Haruhi's expression became sullen. _Stupid rich people._

One of Tamaki's regular customers came up to him.

"Oh Tamaki-kun! Good luck on your match today! I hope you'll play well."

Takami heaved a sigh of fatigue. Persperation glistened on his forehead. "Thank you for your support, my darling. Even if my bones break, I'll keep going knowing that you're cheering for me on the sidelines."

The girl squealed and walked off love-dazed.

Haruhi turned her blank stare on Tamaki, "Say, just when did you suddenly get all sweaty?"

Tamaki flashed a squirt bottle, winking, "no girl can resist a steamy guy with sweat glistening off his abs." He tossed her the bottle. Similarly the other hosts were suddenly covered in fake perspiration. Hikaru and Kaoru were practically drenched in it. Honey playfully squirted Mori with a bottle. Kyouya had gone for a more discreet and tasteful display on the back of his neck and highlighting the contours of his muscles.

"Fine, fine," said Haruhi, "I get the picture. I'll go change."

She made for the dressing room, but somehow the twins had transitioned themselves and their crowd of fans there. They were currently removing each others "sweaty" clothes, much to the zeal of every girl who watched.

Haruhi scurried back outside of the music room, planning to change in one of the school's bathrooms instead.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the people from Seigaku were being led on a tour of Ouran by one of the student council members. So far it had seemed more like the inside of an art and history museum rather than a learning institution. Momoshiro was standing at the back of the line of his teammates, trying not to snore.<p>

"And here," gestured the student council member, "you may note our Victorian era columns that were imported from the same cathedral in the late 1800s…"

_Booooring, _thought Momo. He peeked around to see if any of his teammates were watching, then began distancing himself from the group. Ryouma only caught a glance of him before he sneaked around the corner.

_Heheh, _Momo grinned. Now he could have some fun scoping out rich girls. As he headed down a hallway filled with multiple arched windows, he finally found a bathroom and water fountain. He saw a guy with short brown hair head into one, and was about to walk into it also before he caught himself. The sign on the door read "women".

_What the heck?_ thought Momoshiro. _I'm sure I saw that guy go in here…_

After making his way to and from the proper bathroom, Momoshiro turned down the hallway and started making way back for the group. All of the halls were empty, so he figured classes must be in session. _Drat…no cute girls around…_

Suddenly, the hallway he was walking down came to a dead end. Oh no…he was sure this was the way he'd come from…wasn't it? Momo tried back tracking his steps, but none of the other side hallways looked familiar. No mistaking it, he was lost.

Momo scratched his head worriedly and leaned back against what he thought was the wall, only to find it toppling out from underneath him.

"Wha!"

"Watch out!" someone yelled.

_Snag_.

Momo found himself being supported by the same brown haired boy from earlier, only who was now wearing a tennis uniform. In one hand, the boy held an expensive looking blue vase.

"Be careful," the guy sighed, "The last thing you wanna do is break one of these. I had to learn that the hard way." Carefully, the guy placed the vase back on the pedestal Momo had nearly knocked over."

"Uh, thanks for the save," said Momo, "So…are you part of the tennis club at this school or something?" He gestured to Haruhi's uniform.

"Uh…not exactly," Haruhi sweat dropped. Now she noticed that the stranger also had on tennis garb. "I take it you're on the team that's playing Ouran today?"

"Yeah, my name's Momoshiro, but call me Momo."

_Poor guy… _she thought, _he's unknowingly caught up in Tamaki-sempai's scheme even now. _"Haruhi's my name. Pleased to meet you" she said to him, offering her hand.

Momoshiro shook it, noticing with a jolt how small and dainty it felt.

And suddenly two and two clicked together. Momo put on his best womanizing smile.

"Nice to meet you too…but uh..say, Haruhi? I've got a slight problem… I got separated from my team and I'm uh…kinda lost. And the match is supposed to start soon, so I kind of need to get to wherever everyone's playing"

"Oh, well, you can come with me then. I can take you to the Ouran team anyway, and get you sorted out."

* * *

><p>Back where the rest of the Seigaku regulars were congregated, the vein on Ryuuzaki-sensei's head was bulging quite prominently.<p>

"Ryouma...just why didn't you inform me when you saw Momoshiro leaving the group?"

Ryouma's gaze was its typical calm guiltlessness, "You never asked."

"Be that as it may," said Tezuka, stepping in, "Now we have to find him before the match begins since he's scheduled first to be in doubles 2 with Takashi. Everyone be on the lookout."

"Right," their tour guide interjected, "Well, that concludes the tour of Ouran Academy. If you'd like I can now show you all out to the tennis court where the matches will be taking place."

* * *

><p>As Haruhi led Momoshiro into the second music room, they both sweat dropped.<p>

If possible, the baseball shooting machine had been turned up to an even higher frequency, now shooting out tennis balls like a machine gun. Mori was holding it down while Kyouya tried to turn it off. Off to the side, Honey was eating tennis ball shaped cupcakes with his rabbit, Usa-chan.

The real attraction though, was in the middle of the room where a large group of Ouran girls had congregated. Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru were engaged in some sort of highly overblown photo shoot. Tamaki had a large line of girls who were having their pictures taken with him as he leaned over them in various "princely" poses. On the other hand, the rest of the girls were perfectly content to watch Hikaru and Kaoru messing around in other far more unmentionable poses.

Momoshiro turned to Haruhi, "Um…you don't really mean to tell me that _this _is Ouran's tennis club, do you?"

Haruhi sweat dropped again, "Well, you see-"

"HAAAARUUHIIII!"

Once again Tamaki tried to tackle hug Haruhi and once again she stepped out of the way at the last second, sending him crashing into the wall.

"Oh, Haruhi! I'm so glad you're here!" cried Tamaki, "Come over here and take some pictures with Daddy my precious-"

Tamaki faltered as he and Momo's eyes met. Takami abruptly turned steely.

"Haruhi?"

"Yes Sempai?"

"Who is this dark, suspicious looking stranger and what are you and he doing together?"

"Hey! Just who are you calling "dark and suspicious!" Momo countered.

"This is Momoshiro," Haruhi sighed, exasperated, "He's a member of the tennis team you had Kyouya hire to play us."

The steely look in Tamaki's eyes was abruptly replaced by burning flames of passion.

"OHO! So you are our rival!" he exclaimed. Striking another theatrical pose meant to look heroic, he stuck his pointer finger right in Momoshiro's face.

"I'm sure you'll fight valiantly, Momoshiro, my rival, but I'm afraid to inform you that it shall be Ouran who prevails today in the duel between our schools! For you see, I, Tamaki Suou, will champion these lovely ladies along with my fellow knights, and in the end we shall proudly proclaim, 'VIC-TO-RYYY!'"

At the shout of victory, actual flames and fireworks erupted behind Tamaki, presumably set off by the twins, who were waiting in the backdrop with fire extinguishers chanting "My Lord!" along with a horde of raving fangirls.

Momoshiro and Haruhi looked on, dumbstruck and aghast respectively.

Wiping a sweat drop from his forehead, Momoshiro stammered "I-…is this really Ouran's…-"

"Tennis team?" Haruhi finished for him, "Not exactly. As I was trying to say before Tamaki-sempai interrupted me, we're actually a host club."

"Host?"

"Yes! We, the challengers of Ouran are in fact the illustrious and nationally renowned Host Club!" Tamaki jumped in. "As hosts, it is our job, nay, our quest to entertain the beautiful women of Ouran academy!"

Tamaki grabbed a nearby customer girl as a prop, leaning low over her as he held her in his arms.

"Every one of these lovely ladies deserves the best that we as hosts can offer, thus, we will sacrifice our bodies in battle if need be to uphold their honor."

The girl in Tamaki's arms practically melted. "Oh Tamaki-sempai…please…don't push yourself too hard."

"For you, mon cherie, I'll lay my life down." He knelt down on one knee, kissing her hand.

"KYAAAA!" The rest of the customers exploded into a Tamaki-frenzy.

Turning his attention back on Haruhi and Momoshiro however, Tamaki found that the two had migrated to the corner of the room where the twins were and had ignored his performance.

"So let me try to get this straight," Momo addressed the twins, "you all actually go a long with this 'host club' deal?"

"Yeah" said Hikaru.

"It's a lot of fun" said Kaoru.

"And all you guys basically do is flaunt yourselves all day to impress women and get them to like you?"

"Pretty much" said both twins.

"Is there any way I can join this thing?"

"Afraid not" Kyouya interjected, appearing suddenly. "Only Ouran students are eligible for the Ouran Host Club. However, if you have a desire to establish one at your own school, it's possible we can negotiate the franchise rights….for a suitable price, that is."

"Trust me," said Haruhi, "you don't want to do that. A financial deal with Kyouya is comparable to a deal with the devil."

Kyouya smirked, pushing his glasses higher up his nose. "That's an interesting opinion, in its own way."

Throughout this exchange, Tamaki had been creeping up from behind, looking for a chance to insert himself back into everyone else's business. As it turned out though, he didn't have to.

"M'Lord!" the twins called, "Check this out!"

Hikaru and Kaoru were now staring outside of the large arched windows of music room 3. Outside, on the new state-of-the-art tennis courts, the Seigaku squad has assembled. The rest of the music room's occupants made way for the windows.

Down on the courts, all of the regulars were in the process of warming up. Oishi, Fuji, Kikumaru, and Ryouma were set up on one end of the court with a basket of tennis balls. On the other end of the court were numerous tin cans they were taking aim at and knocking down over and over again. Meanwhile, on the second court, Inui and Kaidou were in the middle of a scrimmage match. Off to the side of the court were Tezuka and Ryuuzaki, who were conversing with each other. Even from the music room, the veins bulging on her head were visible.

At that moment, the realization suddenly dawned on Momoshiro. He was in _trouble_.

"Shit, I gotta go. My coach is going to _kill _me" he informed Haruhi.

"Oh," she said, "why didn't you say so? The quickest way to the courts is down the stairs on your left. There's an emergency exit that lets out right in front of the courts."

"Thanks!" he yelled, already half way out of the room, "Be seeing you!"

"By the way," said Haruhi, "shouldn't we be getting down there soon too? The matches are supposed to start soon, right?"

"All in good time, Haruhi," Tamaki ran his fingers through his hair, "The host club is all about presentation. We'll have to come out looking our best. Hikaru! Kaoru! Prepare our chariot!"

Tamaki took the lead, marching the rest of the club proudly out of the music room. Haruhi, who was dragged by the twins at the rear of the procession, let loose another deflated sigh. Whatever was coming next, she knew it was going to give her a migrane.

* * *

><p>As Momo walked onto the Seigaku tennis court, Ryuuzaki gave him her best death glare. He tried not to flinch.<p>

"Momoshiro! Just what do you think you're doing wandering off right before your tennis match! Twelve warmup laps around the court, NOW!"

Sighing, Momo dropped his stuff in the team pavilion and joined a few of the other regulars who were still on their laps. Oishi waved and matched paces with Momo as he started around the court.

"Glad you're back," said Oishi, "Ryuuzaki was looking daggers the whole time you were gone. We thought when you got back she was going to skin you alive."

"Yeah," Momo sweat-dropped, "I'll probably get it from her later after the match."

Oishi nodded sympathetically in agreement. "Probably. Say, just where were you anyway?"

A couple more regulars, Kaidou and Echizen, had just caught up with them and were listening in.

"Well, I got lost after I went to the bathroom, but then I ran into a member of Ouran's tennis team who showed me to their club room…only get this, apparently they're not a real tennis team at all!"

"The heck are you talking about?" Kaidou grunted.

"Yeah, they call themselves the "host club" or something. All of them were showing off for a bunch of girls in their club room like it was some sort of show. I don't think they've ever even played tennis before!"

"Get out," said Kikumaru, who'd just sprinted up from behind, "There's no way Ryuuzaki-sensei would have us play some unseeded team for no reason!"

"That's just it," Momo countered, "One of their people said they'd "hired" us. I'll bet Ryuuzaki's getting paid off-"

"Eeeehh! No WAY! I can't believe she'd do that!" yelled Kikumaru, outraged.

The others nodded in agreement.

Kikumaru bit his lip in frustration, "If there's money involved in this game, I wanna slice too!"

The other regulars sweat-dropped.

"That's crazy talk," Kaidou cut in, "Momoshiro's just pulling our legs. There's no way something like that's going on."

"Are you kidding me! I'm being completely serious!" Momo challenged.

Oishi scratched his head. "I think I'm going to have to agree with Kaidou on this, Momo. Maybe you just misunderstood what was going on."

Momoshiro's shoulders slumped pitifully. "You too Oishi? Why won't anyone believe me?"

Right as the regulars were finishing their laps, the front doors of Ouran slowly began to swing open. All of Seigaku turned and looked on in astonishment.

As the doors opened, a myriad of trumpets seemed to blare out of nowhere. There was a spray of red rose petals, and girls in yellow Ouran uniforms began flooding the grounds excitedly. A clanking metal sound like a high powered generator started up and a platform rose out of the ground with a lone figure standing upon it.

"OOOOHOHOHOHOHO!" laughed the brown haired girl into a microphone, "Welcome, everyone, to the first ever Ouran Host club publicity match! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Renge! I'm the manager of the Host Club and will be overseeing today's events. And now, without further ado, it is my pleasure to present to you…THE HOST CLUB!"

All of the girls on the grounds began cheering wildly. Most of the Seigaku members on the other hand were still in shock. Momoshiro couldn't resist leaning in and saying "Told ya so."

With another shower of petals, a giant parade float drifted onto the grounds in the direction of the tennis courts. Aboard it were the host club members: Tamaki, Kyouya, Honey, Mori, Hikaru, Kaoru, and a very mortified looking Haruhi.

After about three minutes filled with all sorts of fanfare and festivity, the float arrived at the courts and the host club descended. Renge joined them on the court. Somehow she'd done a flash costume change from her school uniform into a coach's outfit. She and Ryuuzaki walked up to meet each other. The Seigaku coach's face was as hard and impassive as ever.

"So you're supposed to be Ouran's coach?"

"OOOOHOHOHOHO! That's exactly right," Renge chuckled.

"You're no older than my granddaughter. What business do you have coaching a tennis team?" She questioned.

Renge bristled up but maintained an air of self-confidence, "I could ask you the same thing. What's an old lady doing coaching a tennis team?"

Ryuuzaki proceeded to give Renge her most potent evil eye, but Renge wasn't to be outdone. She countered back with an equally strong Renge glare and smirk. The tension between the two grew into a fiery blaze, each one refusing to break eye contact.

* * *

><p>Back where the host club was standing, Tamaki was giving yet another bombastic speech about victory and perseverance. He never seemed to get tired of those. And once again, he was soaked with fake perspiration.<p>

"…And remember that while the challenges we face may be severe, the Host Club will always persevere and crush our opponents, for we stand for JUSTICE!"

It just so happened that this line was spoken loudly enough for Seigaku to hear. Kikumaru, the hot-head of the group, jumped forward.

"OY OY! Don't go taking us to lightly, blondie! You guys are the ones who are going to get crushed!"

Tamaki's ears immediately perked up. He turned around with more pyrotechnically engineered flames behind him, pride blazing in his eyes.

"AHA! I admire your confidence, commoner! Let's make this a match for the ages!"

With that said, Tamaki snapped his fingers. Several vans appeared, and camera crews jumped out. They began to set up around the courts.

"W-what the heck is all this!" Oishi stammered.

"It appears," said Inui, appearing behind the rest of them, "that the matches will be televised live in the local area. It was set up by Ouran to gain more publicity for their sports department."

Kikumaru's eyes lit up.

"Whaaaat! We're going to be on TV? That's awesome! I'll have to call my sisters and tell them to watch for me!"

* * *

><p>Back in center court, Ryuuzaki and Renge were still locked in an intense stare-off. Finally, the Seigaku coach blinked and broke the silence.<p>

"Very well. Do you have the matchup sheet?"

"Right here," said Renge, returning to her normal composure. She handed Ryuuzaki the paper, then the two shook hands and walked back to their respective teams.

"Alright" said Ryuuzaki, "Listen up, Seigaku! These are the matchups in order from first to last."

She read the sheet aloud.

**Doubles 2: Momoshiro and Takashi VS Honinozuka and Morinozuka**

**Doubles 1: Oishi and Kikumaru VS Hikaru and Kaoru**

**Singles 3: Kaidou VS Haruhi**

**Singles 2: Inui VS Kyouya**

**Singles 1: Ryouma VS Tamaki**

"So remind me," said Kikumaru, "Why is it that Fuji and Tezuka are sitting this one out?"

"Well, you see," said Fuji, "I was in an accident over the weekend and bruised my wrist. It's nothing serious, but the doctor said to try to minimize stress on it until it heals completely."

"And what's your excuse captain?" Ryouma cut in.

"Since this is not a tournament match, it's a good chance to let the rest of you regulars practice," said Tezuka. "It will also give coach Ryuuzaki and I a chance to evaluate what slots each of you should be placed in for upcoming matches."

"In other words," said Inui, "whoever performs poorly today will probably be kicked and not play in our next real matchup."

Suddenly, the rest of the regulars found themselves more determined to win their respective matches.

* * *

><p>On the Ouran side, Tamaki was sizing up the competition.<p>

"I'm impressed Kyouya, this Seigaku looks pretty good. They should make for an exhilarating matchup."

"I would certainly hope so," Kyouya replied, "After all, they're the top seeded team in our region at the moment. They've gone up against every other team relentlessly and been victorious each time. They're one of the favorite teams to win the All-Japan."

Takami's eyes-widened and he gasped, finally realizing a major flaw in his plan.

"Kyouya! This is a top class high school tennis team! The Host Club members, we don't stand a chance! No one's even played tennis before! We don't even know the rules!"

_Finally. _Kyouya smirked. He'd been wondering when that realization would dawn.

Kyouya readjusted his glasses, "Actually, Tamaki, that's not entirely true." He flipped through his clipboard, "In fact, Hikaru and Kaoru were both doubles champions in their district before they joined the host club. They were known locally as 'The Demon Twins'. Honinozuka-sempai and Morinozuka-sempai have been given a copy of the rules. Although they have never played tennis, their stamina, speed, strength, and reflexes from years of intensive martial arts training should suffice. As for myself, I have been in private training for the past couple of weeks under the guidance of top tennis instructors-"

"Then Haruhi!" Tamaki interjected, "What about my precious daughter!"

"It turns out that Haruhi also had some tennis instruction in her youth. At least at the intermediate level."

Tamaki sagged in relief.

"In fact," continued Kyouya, "the only person in the club who has no tennis experience whatsoever is you."

At this, Tamaki froze in horror.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" Renge's voice blared over the loudspeakers. "THE MATCH BETWEEN THE OURAN AND SEIGAKU TENNIS TEAMS WILL NOW BEGIN!"

**~END OF CHAPTER 1~**

* * *

><p>Gaaraxluvr: Yaaay! Chapter 1 is finally complete! Believe it or not, I've been working on this fanfic for over 5 months on and off now. I'm glad I can finally release the first chapter (btw, I've already got most of the series planned out. I didn't spend five months just writing chapter 1).<p>

Kikumaru: What are you talking about! You're such a terrible person! I can't believe you set it up like that and now you're going to leave us on a cliffhanger to see what'll happen in the matches!

Gaaraxluvr: Oh come on. I wrote a TON for this chapter. It came up as over 13 pages on my word processor. And the chapters after this should be shorter and won't take me as long.

Haruhi: Still though, he's got a point. Why not at least begin the first match?

Gaaraxluvr: You want all the reasons? Okay

1. That seemed like a good, natural cut-off point for the chapter.

2. I was kind of exhausted with writing this chapter and just wanted to go ahead and publish it.

3. I love cliff-hangers. They may be evil, but they keep people coming back for more.

Those be my reasons.

Anyway, please review people. REVIEW! It makes me so happy to hear any kind of feedback. And it makes me write the next chapter faster, I swear.

Haruhi: Who are you talking to?

Gaaraxluvr: The audience. Duh.

Haruhi: What audience?

Gaaraxluvr: Pfft…I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're just text, silly.

Kaidou: She's talking to people in an alternate dimension, for whom our lives are just stories written by a teenager for their amusement.

Kikumaru: How do you know that, Kaidou?

Kaidou: Fshuuu… Gaaraxluvr and I… we're…previously aquainted. And trust me, if she's the one writing this story, things are gonna get crazy...fast.


	2. Chapter 2

**Of Pride and Princes**

**Chapter 2: Momoshiro and Kawamura VS Honey and Mori**

**Kawamura's Title: I'M BUUUUUURNING BABY! COME ON!**

**Honey's Title: Whaaaah! This big guy scares me! Takashi! Save me!**

**Mori's Title: …*nods head***

Disclaimer: I am but a lowly writer of fanfiction, and none of the characters, places, ideas, or themes from either Ouran Host Club or Prince of Tennis belong to me. However, the storyline of this fanfic _does _belong to me, and anyone who attempts to replicate it without giving credit will be punished by the medieval standard for larceny: non-medicinal amputation.

By the way, I kid.

Or do I?

* * *

><p>"ATTENTION EVERYONE! THE MATCH BETWEEN THE OURAN AND SEIGAKU TENNIS TEAMS WILL NOW BEGIN!"<p>

The crowd of Ouran girls had transitioned into the spectator bleachers lining the tennis courts and were cheering madly.

On the courts themselves, the Ouran pair, Honey and Mori, and the Seigaku pair, Momoshiro and Kawamura walked up to the net to shake hands.

Under the Seigaku team pavilion, most of the regulars didn't know what to make of the strange matchup they were seeing.

"What's up with the chibi?" said Eiji, referring to Honey. "Does the Ouran team have a gradeschooler like us?"

"Who are you calling gradeschooler?" Ryouma remarked, inwardly pissed.

Oishi flipped through the matchup sheet, "He's not a grade schooler, believe it or not. According to this, Mitsukuni Haninozuka or "Honey" as he goes by, is actually a third year, the same age as me, Fuji, and Tezuka."

"No way," said Kaidou, Eiji, and Ryouma in unison. The regulars looked first at the cutsie blonde haired kid on the playing field, then at their serious fierce eyed leader, noting the contrast. A few of them sweat dropped visibly.

"Oh…"

Fuji, who'd been sitting quietly as usual, picked up a red racquet off the ground. He got up and headed onto the court where the doubles pairs were shaking hands and exchanging formalities.

On the courts the referee ordered the two teams to shake hands.

"Hey" said Kawamura to Mori, "Your name's Takashi too, right? How cool. We've got three in this one match then. My name's Takashi, and Momo's given name is Takeshi, which is close enough."

"Yeah! Isn't that neat?" Honey cut in, "And we've both got Kaoru's too!"

_Yeah, _thought Momo, _but from what I've seen, their personalities are completely different. _

At that moment, Fuji walked up to Kawamura.

"Takashi, you forgot your racquet."

_Oh no, here we go, _thought Momo.

"Hey, you know what?" said Honey, "We should all be frien-"

"BUUUUUURRRNINGGG! COME ON, BABY!"

"Waaaaah!" cried Honey at Kawamura's sudden outburst. He dashed behind Takashi's legs, eyes wide with fear.

"Oh no! Honey-sempai!" cried a swarm of fangirls in the bleachers. Suddenly, hundreds of glares of hatred were directed at the Seigaku doubles pair like a blazing inferno.

Momo gulped audibly. _S-scary… The crowd's totally against us. I better tell Kawamura to cool it, otherwise we might have a lynching on our hands… _

However, the heated glares of the audience only seemed to be stoking Takashi Kawamura's inner fire.

"GREATO! Prepare to get a taste of my BURNIIING shot, chibi!"

Honey shakily emerged from behind his Takashi's leg and tearfully announced "y-y-YOU'RE A MEANIE!"

And then he started to cry.

There was an unearthly roar of outrage from the bleachers, and the Seigaku members on the court found themselves being pelted by articles of trash. The referee, who had been about to start the match, was forced instead to try and bring peace back to the audience.

He wasn't having much success.

In the Ouran pavilion, Haruhi was considerably embarrassed at her school for Seigaku's sake. First the Host Club had made a big show about coming out to the field with that parade, and now the Host Club customers were pelting Seigaku with garbage. Not to mention the whole thing was being filmed and broadcast on live television.

"Tamaki-sempai, don't you think you should put an end to this!" she hissed.

But if Tamaki had heard her, he didn't give any indication. He was hunched over in the corner with all his color drained away mumbling incoherently.

"_Me….no experience…..only one…."_

With a signature Haruhi sigh, she stood up and walked out onto the court.

_I guess I'll have to be the one to put an end to this._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Is this really the end of the SeigakuOuran tennis match?**_

_**Will Haruhi put an end to this fanfic before it has a cha**_**nce to get interesting?**

**Stay Tuned! This fanfic is to be continued!**

…**.Immediately.**

* * *

><p>The jeering crowd hadn't calmed in the slightest, and garbage was still raining down on center court when Haruhi stepped out.<p>

The rabid fangirls were also raining down threats.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

"LEAVE HONEY-SEMPAI ALONE!"

"I'LL CUT YOU!"

Haruhi planted herself in front of the grandstand. Took a deep beath, and…

"**HEY! SHUT UP!"**

The girls in the stands did a veritable double-take.

A thousand stares were now gazing in shock. Haruhi fixed a molten chocolate brown eye on the entire group. "Listen! The Seigaku tennis club members are here today as our guests, so like it or not, you should treat them with respect and decency, got that!"

There was a moment of eerie silence.

"Oh, Haruhi!" cried out several girls, many in tears.

"You're so noble!"

"We're sorry!"

"We'll conduct ourselves honorably from now on!"

"We promise!"

"Haruhiii!"

_Well, that's that. _She sighed. Rich people gave her headaches.

When she ducked back under the Ouran pavilion, Suou had regained some of his perkiness and swept her into a spinning hug.

"Oh Haruhi! Just what I would expect from my precious daughter, you're so brave."

"Let go" Haruhi mumbled.

Hikaru and Kaoru also materialized behind her.

"Way to go short stuff."

"Yeah, we didn't know you had it in you."

"Shut up. I just can't stand it when you stupid rich people pull your stupid stunts at the expense of others. That's all."

* * *

><p>With things quieted down, the match was finally allowed to begin. A team of ball boys cleared all the trash off the court and the players took their places.<p>

"Best of one set match!" cried the referee, "Seigaku's Momoshiro to serve!"

Momo bounce the tennis ball in his hand a couple of times. _Well, this is probably just about the rockiest start of a tennis match I've ever gotten off to, but its been kind of interesting. Now it's time to show my stuff though. _

"Alright, here I come!"

Throwing the ball up into the air, he smashed it across the court towards the far back corner where Honey was cowering. Ouran's blonde lolita flinched back, raising his racket to shield his face. The ball whizzed right past him.

"Point, Seigaku! 15-0"

"Oh no!" cried the fangirls.

"Come on, Honey!"

"You can do it! We're rooting for you!"

Momo's next two serves went straight down the middle. Neither Mori nor Honey made a move to get them.

"What are you doing, Mori-sempai!" Tamaki yelled across the court. He was met with a blank stare. "You're supposed to return them!"

"Oh…" said Mori.

The entire Seigaku team was dropping sweat bullets now. Oishi cleared his throat.

"Uh…Ryuuzaki-sensei…. They're joking…right?"

No response.

"40-0"

"Alright, time to end this," said Momo, "Last shot! Smaaash Serve!"

The tennis ball flew across the court almost faster than could be seen. It looked sure to go out, but to everyone's surprise, Mori Takashi's previously blank eyes turned fierce.

Mori lunged after the ball and….caught it.

Like, in his hand.

Silence.

Mori walked up to Seigaku's side of the court and handed the ball to Kawamura.

"Here you go."

The referee looked more than a little bewildered

"Uh…Fault! Palming the ball. Game Seigaku!"

Tamaki buried his face in his palm.

"MORI! When I said you were supposed to 'return the ball', I meant hit it back with your racket! Not catch it!"

"Oh….sorry."

"New game!" the referee announced, "Ouran's Morinozuka to serve!"

The next few minutes were almost too painfully mortifying to watch.

To sum it up, Mori double-faulted _every single serve. _

The first time he hit the ball so hard if flew outside of the courts entirely.

The second, after Tamaki yelled at him, he hit it too softly, and it didn't even make it to the other side.

"0-15, Seigaku leads"

The third he almost managed to hit it inside. It got within two meters of the Seigaku square. That was as close as he ever got.

The unfortunate truth was that Mori had absolutely no control or sense of aim when it came to tennis.

"Game, Seigaku! 2-0"

Now it was Kawamura's turn to serve. Seigaku's powerhouse appeared to be quite literally burning with passion.

"Duoora, Doorraaaah! OOOKAAY! READY TO GET BEAT, PUNK!" he jeered.

Pumping the ball in the air, he belted it down the court.

Still trying his best, Mori jumped after it and caught it on the edge of his racquet. That alone would have been an impressive feat if he just could have returned it towards the Seigaku side of the court. Instead it went sailing over the side of the chain link fence. Overreacting to the extreme, the hoard of Seigaku girls in the stands started screaming

"EEEK! Look out! Duck!" Everyone hit the floor of the stands as the ball landed harmlessly behind them and bounced away."

"15-0, Seigaku leads!"

"PA-THE-TIC!" Kawamura was having to release all his excess energy with trash-talk today. An excess of energy tended to turn him into an asshole. "My grandmother swings better than you! Where did you learn to play tennis, a nursery home? You're unworthy to hold a racquet! Why don't you go back to knitting sock puppets—"

"SHUT UP AND SERVE, TAKASHI!" half the other regulars yelled at him.

Again a high-powered speed ball was launched across the court.

Again Mori lunged after the ball quite unsuccessfully.

"30-0"

Needless to say, things were not looking encouraging for the Ouran team.

In the meantime, Honey was still on the corner of the court, cowering.

"Honey-sempai!" Kaoru Hiitachin called, "Get your game-face on! Don't let these Seigaku punks smoke us!"

"I caaaan't!" Honey cried, "It's too scary!"

"What about for cake!" Hikaru offered.

"Noooooo!"

"Stuffed animals?"

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Tamaki bit his thumb in frustration. _Damn…this is really bad if we can't even get him motivated by his favorite things. _

Mori bent down by the crying Honey.

"Don't worry, Mitsukuni. I'll take care of it,"

"Takashi…" Honey sniffed, "Don't push yourself too hard…m'kay?"

"Un…"

"Come on, Come ON!" Kawamura jeered, "Is that all you've got, baby?"

Mori stood up, locking eyes with him.

"…Bring it."

"OKAY, GREATO!

When Kawamura wound up for his serve, Momoshiro could tell things were going to be bad. As he tossed the ball into the air, he twisted his entire body back. Every muscle was tensed, powerful, and set like a coil ready to spring.

The ball fell, and Takashi Kawamura unwound like a spring, throwing all his weight into the serve.

It headed straight towards Mori.

Any tennis player with the slightest amount of logic or experience would have dodged out of the way and given up the point, simply being thankful that they didn't get any bones broken.

But come on, this is Mori we're talking about.

Years of kendo experience kicked in instead, and with lightning reflexes he sidestepped in an instant. His racket came up just in time to catch the ball.

But he missed.

There was a resounding thud, and a gasp from the audience. Mori's racket went skittering across the court. He stood clutching his right wrist where a circular bruise was already visible forming.

"No! Takashi!" Honey cried.

"MORI-SEMPAI!" the fangirls cried.

"Ugh," was all Mori managed. He simply stared blank-faced.

Honey ran over to his injured friend.

"Takashi, are you okay?"

"Un…"

"Lemme see…"

Takashi took his free hand off the wrist to reveal an angry red welt.

"Sorry, Mitsukuni. I couldn't hit it."

"No Takashi! It's all my fault!" Tears were brimming from the blonde lolita's eyes. He sniffed loudly, "I m-made you play instead of me…I….I'M SO SORRY TAKASHI! I won't be a coward anymore!"

This tearful exchange, captured on multiple live video feeds being broadcast around the country, obviously had the MOE sensitive portion of the audience captivated.

Thus, unable to suppress her fangirl instincts any longer, Renge grabbed the nearest microphone and began narrating.

"OH NO! POOR MORI'S BEEN INJURED WHILE FIGHTING VALIANTLY IN HONEY'S STEAD! OOH! BUT IT'S SO CUTE HOW HONEY'S COMFORTING HIM! POOR MORI! THAT SURE LOOKS LIKE A NASTY INJURY. GO HONEY AND MORI! BUT THAT SEIGAKU GUY, TAKASHI KAWAMURA'S JUST _EVIL. _HOW COULD HE DO SOMETHING LIKE THA—"

"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE TWIT!" Ryuuzaki yelled.

"YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME, OLD LADY!"

"BRING IT ON, PIPSQUEAK! I CAN TAKE YOU ANY DAY!"

Kaidou and Oishi had to restrain their coach to keep her from going to wail on Renge, while a few hired commentators exercised good judgement and did the same to suppress the Ouran manager.

Meanwhile, back in the game.

"Whaahahahahaha! Is that all you've got, sissy boy!" Kawamura yelled across the court, meriting him dirty looks from nearly everyone.

The referee had descended from his platform to check on Mori.

"Hey, Morinozuka, right? How is your arm? Will you be able to continue playing?"

"Sure."

"Takashi, no! You can't!" Honey wailed.

Kawamura was officially too full of energy, so he started going berserk with the insults.

"BOO HOO! Cry me a river, sissy boy! AAAWWW, DID I GIVE YOUR FRIEND A BOO-BOO? Why don't you go curl up with your teddy bear and DEAL WITH IT, WIMP!"

With every new insult, Honey's face was growing redder and redder.

"YOU'RE A DISGRACE!"

Momo was trying to restrain Kawamura now.

"You don't stand a chance! C'mon blackie, how 'bout we keep playing so I can bruise your other arm! Or better yet, I'll put a beating on that little blonde runt instead!"

Something snapped.

Mori, who had tolerated the trash talk thus far, was not about to let a direct threat to Honey go unanswered. He moved to lunge at Kawamura, but was held back by the firm grip of none other than Honey himself.

"Mitsukuni…"

The blonde's hair was swept down over his eyes, obscuring the dark look on his face. When he spoke, Honey's voice was hard and emotionless.

"Takashi…can you stand out here for a little longer? I'll handle this."

After a brief pause, Mori consented and stepped back.

"Uh…play ball?" said the referee.

"YAAAHOOO!" Taka cheered as Honey and Mori took their places, "ABOUT TIME! Now get a taste of my BUUUUUURNIIING SERVE! DoooooRYAAAA!"

* * *

><p><strong>*under the Seigaku Pavillion*<strong>

"Eiji?"

"Yeah, Oishi?"

"Is it just me, or do the Ouran people look…worried…over there?"

"Well no duh they'd be worried. They're losing."

"No…it's different, I think. It's like they're looking at that blonde kid of theirs strangely…almost like if they thought he was a dangerous animal or something."

"Now that you mention it…yeah. I guess you're right."

"Uh oh. Taka-san's winding up for his serve."

"Poor blondie's going to get scorched."

"Yep. There it goes. No way he'll—WHAT THE HECK!"

Honey practically materialized behind the ball. He sliced it down the court right between Kawamura and Momo. It looked like it was going out, but at the last moment it crashed down inside the court, leaving a visible scud mark.

Everyone in the stands roared.

"45-15"

"WOAH!" Renge's voice blared, "WHAT AN AMAZING COMEBACK FROM HONEY! I DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT, BUT I THINK I MIGHT HAVE HEARD A SONIC BOOM!"

"Oho!" Kawamura smirked, unfazed, "Looks like you've got some fight in you after all. Well, TAKE THIS! DooouuuRYAAAA! BUUURRNNIIING!"

Three more balls whizzed across the court and were returned flawlessly by Honey each time. Each time Momo and Taka tried to return them in vain. Where Taka had been exuding a heated aura that dominated the field, now Honey was exuding one as cold as ice.

"Game Ouran! 1-2

"2-2"

"4-2"

While the stands were wild with applause, the mood under the Ouran pavilion was oddly somber.

"Honey-sempai…is scary when he's angry, huh?" said Haruhi.

The rest of the host club nodded shakily in agreement.

The last ball landed with a resounding jingle as it collided with the chain link fence.

"GAME, OURAN! 6-2"

Ryuuzaki looked sick. She turned to her team.

"Could someone explain to me what just happened?"

Unfortunately, most of them looked just as dumbstruck as she felt.

_Damn Ouran…you lulled us into a false sense of security and we let our guard down…I won't allow that to happen again. You're going down._

As soon as the final score was announced, Honey miraculously snapped out of his evil mood.

"Takashi, Takashi! Look! We won! Isn't that great?"

"Un…you did good, Mitsukuni."

"Thanks! But I'm tired now. I wanna take a nap."

Taka-san did a similar 180.

"Sorry Momo, guess we lost."

"Meh, don't worry about it too much," he replied, now holding two raquets.

_But man…that blondie was scary. He's practically the same as Kawamura. Hm…I think there's a name for people like them. Bi-something? Bi…..polar? Yeah. That sounds right._

The two sides approached the net to shake hands, and the crowd tensed visibly, expecting a fight to break out.

"WAI! That was so fun!" Honey said from his usual perch on Mori's shoulders. "We should do it again sometime, m'kay?"

"Uh…sure?" said Momo.

"Yaaay!" Honey cheered as he snuggled his bunny, Usa-chan.

"Wow…that's a cute rabbit." Taka remarked.

Honey gasped hugely. "You like Usa-chan?"

"Yeah. He's adorable."

"Yaaaay!"

Honey catapulted from Mori's shoulders into Kawamura, engulfing him in a colossal hug.

"C'mon! Let's go get some cake!"

"Uh, sure. I can't turn down food."

The new friends skipped off the court, leaving Mori looking aghast.

HE was supposed to be Mitsukuni's cake-eating partner!

Hikaru and Kaoru materialized on either side of him, swinging their arms over his shoulders.

"Don't worry, man."

"Yeah, he's sure to come back."

The twins led Mori, head handing in dejection, back under the team pavilion.

Momo took his own seat back with the other regulars.

"So how does it feel to be beaten by a fourth grader?" Ryouma asked.

"Shut it, Echizen. He was as old as Tezuka."

* * *

><p>The referee made the announcement for the next match.<p>

"Next match, Doubles 1: Seigaku's Shuichiro Oishi and Eiji Kikumaru versus Ouran's Hikaru and Kaoru Hiitachin!"

"Alright" said Ryuuzaki, turning to the next doubles pair.

"We've seen what Seigaku's capable of," Tamaki explained.

Ryuuzaki crossed her arms. "So whatever you do, don't let your guard down."

"I've got faith in you two," said Tamaki, placing his hands on the twins' shoulders.

"Just stick with your normal doubles strategy, and you should be fine," she ordered.

"Right, boss!" Hikaru and Kaoru saluted.

"And no matter what," Ryuuzaki paused.

Tamaki's glare intensified.

"Show them no mercy."

**END OF CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

><p>Gaaraxluvr: Okay! So what did everyone think?<p>

Eiji: Whaa! This is terrible! I can't believe you had us beaten by that little blondie!

Kaidou: (inwardly) _….I can._

Gaaraxluvr: Well, it wouldn't be any fun if Seigaku won all the games, now would it? Just goes to show that you guys are gonna have to stay on your toes. You can't underestimate the Host Club.

Eiji: No WAY Oishi and I are going down. You can count on that! The ones you shouldn't be underestimating is Seigaku's golden pair!

Hikaru: Oooh, that so?

Kaoru: You're pretty confident.

Eiji: Aha! Rivals! Prepare to lose in the next chapter!

Hikaru and Kaoru: Oh really?

Kaoru: But you know, I think Gaaraxluvr mentioned in the last chapter…

Hikaru: My brother and I have a nickname of our own…

Both: The _demon twins_.

Gaaraxluvr: Shhh! Don't you guys go giving away any juicy details just yet! I still want to make my readers beg for them with reviews. So everyone, if you like this story or if you hate it and there's something you want to berate me for, make sure to review at the bottom. I aim to please-

Everyone: That's what she said

Gaaraxluvr: *scowl* -so any thoughts you have will be taken into consideration. Thankies! And see you next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**OF PRIDE AND PRINCES**

**CHAPTER 3**

**Oishi's Title: What the Hell is "Twincest"?**

**Kikumaru's Title: Prepare to Have Your Butts Kicked, Twin Guys!**

**Kaoru's Title: Ooh? I Think It's Time to Play…**

**Hikaru's Title: …The "Guess Which One's Hikaru" Game.**

**Disclaimer:** This disclaimer is currently in the process of being disclaimed. Any claim to the following, proceeding, current, standard, draft, prior, superseding, supplementary, sub-textual, aforementioned, dilatory, and comprehensive is currently pending its impendment. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and have a nice day.

*Ahem* And now that that's taken care of. You may start reading the chapter.

* * *

><p>"ROUND 2!" Renge's voice blared, "Shuichiro Oishi and Eiji Kikumaru VS. Hikaru and Kaoru Hiitachin! Let the match begin!"<p>

Hikaru and Kaoru emerged from under their pavilion stretching in unison.

"Tch, looks like it's finally our turn, eh Hikaru?"

"Sure does, Kaoru," his twin said all too innocently. Kaoru noticed the mean glint in his brother's eyes and cracked a grin.

"Oh my…you look like you might actually be planning on taking this seriously. I thought you had gotten bored of this game a long time ago."

Hikaru's smirk widened an inch. "Well, you know me. Just because I lost interest in a game doesn't mean I won't still play it seriously."

"So then," Kaoru mused, "We'll be using _that_?"

"_That _we will."

* * *

><p>Across the court, Oishi and Kikumaru tapped their racquets together in unison.<p>

"You ready for this, Eiji?"

"Are you kidding?" the redhead chuckled, "I was born ready. Forget the last match. It was a one time fluke. This time, Ouran's going down. No one can stand against Seigaku's 'Golden Pair'."

"Right you are," his partner smiled. However, a commotion from the other side of the court suddenly drew his attention. In the Ouran stands, most of the yellow-clad female students were going ballistic.

"What do you think they're all riled up about now?" asked Eiji, pointing towards the seemingly rabid horde.

Oishi shrugged, "Dunno…. But is it just me, or does that section over there seems crazier than the rest?" He motioned towards a box where all the girls were wearing matching T-shirts.

Emblazoned across the front of their clothing was the word "TWINCEST".

The "Golden Pair" sweat-dropped.

"What does _that_ mean?"

Their gaze found Hikaru and Kaoru Hiitachin across the court. The two twins were draped over each other in a shamelessly seductive pose, their lips almost touching.

"Oh….._that._"

Every time the twins struck a new pose, the cheering became nearly deafening.

This wild applause got the gears turning in Kikumaru's head. Never one to be shown up, he began his own little routine.

"Woo hoo! Check this out ladies!"

Hikaru and Kaoru quickly noticed that something else had the crowd's attention when girls began cheering at off-intervals.

"What the heck?" said Hikaru.

"Hey bro, you might want to check that out," Kaoru motioned with his head toward the other side of the court.

Kikumaru was busily showing off his acrobatic stunts, performing back-flips, hand-stands, and all manner of gymnastics. All the while, he was flirtatiously winking and blowing kisses. The girls were raving.

A vein bulged in Hikaru's temple.

_How dare they? Who does he think he is stealing _our _spotlight!_

_Someone needs to be taught a lesson…_

He caught his brother's eye purposefully. Kaoru knew that look meant and nodded.

_The game is afoot._

* * *

><p>On the side-lines, Fuji watched the twins with barely concealed interest.<p>

"What's up, Shusuke?" asked Momo, "I thought you didn't usually care much about doubles."

Fuji smiled. "Well, you're right. I usually don't. But you see, this is my first time seeing identical twins play doubles together."

"Not a big deal," Ryouma sighed carelessly, "Tennis is tennis. Who cares if they're brothers? It won't make any difference."

Fuji's eyes twinkled ever so slightly.

"Perhaps" was his noncommittal reply.

* * *

><p>The twins and Kikumaru wrapped up their respective showboating routines. Hikaru and Kaoru sauntered over to the Golden Pair wearing identical smirks of amusement.<p>

"Shake hands," the referee ordered from his stand.

"Well well, so you guys are our new toys…" said Kaoru as Oishi gripped his arm.

"…please try to make this amusing. I wouldn't want it to be over _too _quickly," Hikaru enjoined.

"WHAT! Dream on, you're going down! Oishi and I aren't going to lose to a couple of stinking red-heads!" Eiji growled.

The twins laughed in unison.

"Uh, hello?" said Hikaru, "Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Yeah," Kaoru chimed in, "your hair is the same color as ours."

Kikumaru's face became hot from embarrassment, and it didn't escape the twins' notice.

"Look! Look! His face is as red as his hair now!"

"Oh my gosh! A tomatoe! A tomatoe holding a tennis racquet!"

"No, no, a lobster!"

They were all but rolling on the ground in laughter.

Eiji stumbled to find some kind of comeback, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Don't let them get you riled up," Oishi warned, "right now they just want to get that kind of rise out of you. Relax. We'll show them up in the tennis match."

Eiji felt his muscles relax and his heart-rate slow down. He would have snapped at anyone but his cool-headed partner. Oishi always had that effect on him.

"Yeah, yeah. You're right."

The regular threw one last glare at the still smirking twins before taking his place on the court.

* * *

><p>"Round One! Ouran's Hikaru to serve!"<p>

Hikaru shot a significant glance at his brother, who nodded.

_Let's see what we're up against._

Tossing the ball in the air, Hikaru sliced it clean down the middle of the court as if to go straight between Oishi and Kikumaru.

The Golden Pair were smiling. _Too easy. _

Kikumaru instantly jumped into action. Leaping sideways, he showed off his acrobatic skills, catching the ball almost as soon as it had passed over the net.

Eiji puffed up with conceit.

"Take that you!—Wha!"

There was a flash of red in front of Eiji. Kaoru had rushed the net, just like him. No sooner had the ball passed over the net again, Kaoru returned it. Kikumaru couldn't react quickly enough. The ball whizzed past him, headed for the far back corner of the court.

"Don't sweat it, Eiji!"

In the blink of an eye, Oishi was there. He gave the ball his signature top-spin lob.

"Moon Volley!"

The ball sailed over the heads of the Hiitachin twins, landing just inside their court before bouncing out.

"Point, Seigaku! 0-15"

"Good job, Oishi!" his partner called, "See that, idiot twins? Where's all your big talk now?"

* * *

><p>Tamaki was pouting.<p>

"Kyouya! I thought you told me Hikaru and Kaoru were supposed to be good at tennis!"

"Sempai, relax," said Haruhi, "I mean it's not like they faulted their serve or missed their shots. They actually look like they're pretty good."

"_Good _isn't good enough! What about all that talk of the _demon twins?_"

"Relax, Tamaki," came Kyouya's cool voice, "It's only the first point. I believe we'll see the true "demon twins" before the end of this set. In the meantime, please do something about Mori. He's damaging the bench."

Sure enough, the wood was cracking between Mori's fists, which were clenched so hard his knuckles had turned completely white. The cause of the dark-haired host's distress was evident. He kept throwing dark glances at a table off to the side where Kawamura was cheerily eating cake with Honey.

He was biting his lower lip in distress.

"Mitsukuni…"

"Uh…there, there Morinozuka-sempai. I'm sure he'll come back soon…"

* * *

><p>It was Hikaru's turn to serve again.<p>

"Alright, Kaoru. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yep. I think it's time to play…"

"The 'Guess Which One's Hikaru' game…"

Hikaru tossed the ball high into the air. Multiple eyes on the Seigaku side widened as he assumed a familiar stance.

"Is that—?"

The ball zoomed across the court. Kikumaru ran and got lined up to hit it back, but as the ball hit the ground, it bounced away at a seemingly impossible angle. The regular attempted to readjust his swipe at the last second, but the ball got past him, landing again outside the court.

"15-15"

The Ouran girls screamed with delight.

"Hold the phone," Momo said under the Seigaku pavilion, "This guy knows the twist serve?"

"Not exactly," said Inui, "Although it was indeed similar to Ryouma's signature twist serve, the angle was off. A true twist serve bounces up toward the face of the person it's aimed towards. In this case, the ball went more sideways. It was more of a 'trick serve'."

"Whatever, same difference," Momo grunted.

"Mada Mada Dane"

"Shut up, Echizen"

* * *

><p>"Sorry, Oishi, it got past me," said a chagrined Kikumaru.<p>

"Don't worry about it. You were just caught off guard. Watch for that serve in the future and you'll be fine."

"Yeah…"

Hikaru served again. It was another "trick serve". This time, Kikumaru placed himself at a different angle to the ball, feeling sure he was positioned right. However, he was foiled again when the tennis ball flew of at a completely different angle than before, sailing past him again.

This time though, Oishi had his back. He caught the ball with another lobbed "moon volley". Neither he nor Eiji noticed the grins spreading across the twins' faces.

Kaoru and Hikaru immediately dashed into action. Kaoru, who was standing closest to the net, went down on one knee and braced both of his arms against the court. Hikaru then dashed forward and _launched _himself off of Kaoru's back and straight into the air. The ball, which had been going to sail over Kaoru's head was now nearly above the airborne Hikaru. Bringing his racquet up in an arc, the twin slammed the ball back down to earth. It briefly pounded against the ground on their side of the court before flying back up out of Oishi and Kikumaru's reach and sailing over the chain link fence behind them.

"30-15, Ouran leads!"

"What in the world was _that!_" Eiji said, mouth ajar.

"Interesting," said Inui, under the pavilion. "By reaching Oishi's moon volley in mid-air like that, they managed to hit it back at an angle where a return would be near impossible."

"It looked like a cherry bomb," said Momo.

Most of the other regulars gave him blank stares.

"You know! Like, in four-square, when you bounce the ball against the ground hard so it goes too high to hit back?"

"Perhaps," said Inui, "In any case, this 'cherry bomb' is going to cause Oishi some trouble. Lobbing is usually his main strength in tennis. He'll have to be carful about doing it from now on, or he'll give them a chance to strike back with _that_."

* * *

><p>Oishi was just busy thinking the same thing.<p>

Hikaru served again—another trick serve. This time, it went well past Kikumaru's range and headed straight for him. All eyes were on Oishi as he tried to return it with a slice.

No one noticed what the twins did in the meantime.

Oishi managed to hit the ball before it bounced off in an odd direction, but his return was weak. The ball hit the net on his and Kikumaru's side.

"40-15, Ouran leads!"

Oishi cursed under his breath. At this rate, they were in trouble…

Another trick serve, this time on Kikumaru's side.

"Oh no you don't!" the acrobat huffed. He jumped off to the side, ready for it to bounce toward him…

…but it didn't. The serve bounced normally this time, passing him by once more.

"Game, Ouran! 1-0"

Tamaki jumped out of his seat and pulled Haruhi into a hug, spinning her in circles.

"WHOOO! Now that's what I'm talking about! Show those Seigaku's what Ouran is made of! Isn't this wonderful, Haruhi?"

Haruhi's eyes were cold as steel.

"Sempai, if you don't put me down in the next three seconds I'll show you what _you're _made of."

* * *

><p>The second set began. This time, Oishi was serving for Seigaku. Kaoru was still standing at the net and Hikaru at the back of the court…<p>

Wait… or was _that _Kaoru?

With a start, he realized he had no way of telling which was which.

_Oh well…it's not like it matters… I don't need to know which is which to beat them. _

He had no idea how very, very wrong he was.

Oishi served the ball toward the right side. The twin at the net swiftly sliced it back, but he wasn't the only one playing the net. Once again, the ball had barely passed over when Kikumaru returned it. This time, it whizzed past the first twin and toward the back corner…

The second twin appeared in a flash.

_So fast…_ Eiji just had time to think before the ball was coming back towards him. He couldn't get to it quickly enough and Oishi had to pick up the slack.

When he reached the ball, Oishi's reflexes took over and he unthinkingly returned it with a moon volley.

"Crap!" he cursed upon realized his fatal error. The twins were already lining up for another cherry bomb. Both Kikumaru and Oishi rushed for center court to intercept the destructive shot as "Hikaru" jumped into the air.

_We can do this… We know where it's coming._

The twin in the air's face lit up with a malicious grin.

"Just kidding!"

Instead of smashing it to the ground, the twin gave it _another _lob, sending it towards the back corner of Seigaku's side. It bounced just inside the lines before going out. Neither Oishi or Kikumaru had been anywhere close to being able to return it.

"Point Ouran! 15-0"

For a moment, the Golden Pair were completely shell-shocked. This was one of the worst starts of any game they had ever played. Somehow, the twins were predicting every move they would make and planned one step ahead.

"Aw…having trouble?" one of the twins taunted from across the court. Hikaru? Kaoru? Oishi had no clue.

"So sad…and I thought we might actually have worthy challengers for once," said the other.

"Maybe we need to make things more interesting…" they said in unison.

"How about we give you a hint about how to beat us?" offered the twin that was really Kaoru.

There was a tangible silence in which every single ear both on and off the court perked up.

"NOOO!" screamed Tamaki from the Ouran pavilion, "Don't you dare give them an advantage, you meddlesome twins!"

"No worries m'lord," said Hikaru, "Even if they know, they still won't be able to beat us. But it'll make watching them try all the more fun."

"So what is it already!" Kikumaru demanded.

"Relax hot-head. This is your hint," they said in unison, "Each of us twins has our own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to tennis."

"When it comes to offense," said one, "Kaoru only knows simple slices and lobs, but Hikaru is the best. He's the one who can to do 'trick serves' and 'cherry bombs'."

"But when it comes to defense," said the other, "Hikaru is at a disadvantage. Kaoru, on the other hand, is a great defensive player. Just about nothing gets past him, no matter whether he's at the net or covering the back."

"So in conclusion," they said together, "If you want to beat us, you'll have to play...—."

"THE GUESS WHICH ONE'S HIKARU GAME!" screamed the student fangirl section. Needless to say, they were eating this up.

"Great!" said Eiji, "So you're Hikaru," he pointed to the twin who had spoken first, "and the other one is Kaoru," he pointed to the second.

And there it was again. Those devious smiles spread from ear to ear.

"You sure about that?" came their dual sing-song chorus.

Oishi and Kikumaru both sweat-dropped. No. No they were not.

"Whatever, you're probably just making this all up to confuse us in the first place," Kikumaru growled.

Oishi gave it some thought and realized that this was probably untrue. If he applied what the twins had said to what he already knew, it made sense.

"I don't think they're lying, Eiji. That explains why the one who jumped in the air last time didn't smash the ball and only lobbed it. It also explains why that final ball from the last set wasn't a real trick serve like we were expecting. Remember how it just went straight and tripped you up? At some point, they must have switched places on us."

"B-but that's cheating!" cried Eiji, "You can't just switch places during a service game! It's against the rules!"

"Yeah, but how could we prove it? If we can't tell them apart, I really doubt the ref will be able to."

"So you're saying they could pull the same dirty trick again in the next set?"

"Undoubtedly."

Kikumaru's face contorted with rage, "The nerve of those—,"

"Calm down. We don't need to get angry. We need to come up with a plan. They've just given us their weaknesses. All we have to do is figure out which is which and keep an eye on them from now on."

The confident look in Oishi's eyes bolstered Kikumaru's spirit a little. He could always trust Oishi to keep calm and come up with a good course of action.

"K, then let's do this. For Seigaku!"

* * *

><p>Oishi took his place to serve and made his guess about the twins' identities. Last time, it must have been Hikaru at the net and Kaoru at the back. This time the twins would probably assume Oishi and Kikumaru would think they had switched again. So this time…<p>

"Eiji! Hikaru's at the net and Kaoru's in the back!" he yelled just as he served the ball.

"Right!" his partner replied.

Identical looks of surprise passed over the twins' faces. Hikaru managed to return the ball at the net, but so did Kikumaru. The front twin lunged after the ball again, but he missed and it headed for the back of the court toward Kaoru, who masterfully returned it. It passed Kikumaru by and headed straight for Oishi. Now it was the Golden Pair's turn to start smiling.

"Moon Volley!"

Oishi's ball soared high. The twin at the net knelt and the other once again launched off his back.

_Kaoru…Let it be Kaoru_… Oishi and Eiji thought in harmony.

Sure enough, he didn't hit a cherry bomb but returned it with a regular lob. This time, Oishi hadn't run to center court, and he was able to return it with a slice neither twin could get to in time.

"Point Seigaku! 15-15"

Kikumaru whooped, "We did it! Nice one, Oishi!"

Across the court, they heard the twins.

"Sorry, Hikaru. It looks like they saw through our trick that time."

"It's ok, Kaoru. We'll get them next time."

* * *

><p>Off to the sidelines, Haruhi snorted.<p>

"It's kind of presumptuous for them to give up the point like that just to keep their little guessing game going."

"What are you talking about, Haruhi dear?" said a befuddled Tamaki. Like most, he was clueless as to what was really taking place out on the court.

"The one who just apologized really _was _Hikaru," she explained, "he only lobbed the ball to fool the Seigaku players into thinking they know which is which."

"A misconception the twins will surely be exploiting soon," said Kyouya smirked as he adjusted his glasses.

* * *

><p>Under the Seigaku pavilion, Fuji was wearing his own knowing little smile, having guessed the same thing. He explained it to his teammates.<p>

"They're aiming to have Oishi and Kikumaru double guessing their every move. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before the two of them start losing their cool and playing erratically. Then they'll stand no chance of Ouran's twins."

Inui nodded in agreement, "Fascinating. I see now how apt the nickname 'demon twins' is. For their opponents, trying to figure out the constant switch-a-roo must seem like a living hell."

"Screw that," said Kaidou, who had been fairly quiet thus far, "The two of them shouldn't worry about figuring out who's who and just play like they normally do. They're more skilled at tennis than these guys. They would beat them in the end."

The data-tennis player flipped through his note-pad. "Not necessarily. While there's an obvious danger in becoming too focused on playing their guessing game, it could be equally devastating to ignore the partner dynamic between the two. For instance, in the case of their service games, if Kikumaru guessed every time whether the ball coming at him was a trick serve or a regular serve, he would have less than a 50% chance of returning the ball each time. Seigaku will quickly lose with those odds."

The viper grunted.

The regulars resumed watching the game solemnly as the twins took their second set, leaving the score 2-0 with Ouran leading. Ryuuzaki sighed in exasperation.

"If they can't learn to tell the two apart soon, the Golden Pair's defense will be picked to pieces."

* * *

><p>The rounds continued on in an endless back and forth manner. Quickly it became apparent to Oishi that the current of the game was completely under the twins' control. Every time he or Kikumaru thought they had gotten a lock on which was Kaoru and which was Hikaru, something would happen to trip them up. For every point the Golden Pair managed to scrape, they would wonder <em>"Was that really our own handiwork, or did they give it up on purpose<em>?" Every serve brought another wave of uncertainty.

The score was 4-2 now. Seigaku was losing.

Kikumaru's unwavering faith in his partner was starting to…_waver_. Oishi always sounded so sure of himself when he said "that one's Hikaru!" and Kikumaru wouldn't question it, but then another cherry bomb would come out of nowhere and begin the guessing again. That coupled with a steady stream of jeering from the unidentifiable twins had Eiji teetering over the edge of his composure.

"Come _ON, _Oishi!" he finally yelled, "Get it together!"

"I'm _TRYING!_" Oishi yelled back, equally frustrated. "If you're so smart, why don't YOU figure it out, huh!"

"Fine! I _WILL_."

"GOOD! DON'T EXPECT ANY HELP FROM ME!"

Both regulars were fuming mad, making them easy targets for the demon twins who scored yet another two points.

"Point Ouran, 30-15"

"40-15"

When one of the twins sliced a ball towards him, Oishi messed up again, returning it as a moon volley. Hikaru and Kaoru quickly made their move.

Hikaru leaping into the air for a cherry bomb. The tennis ball pelted away from his racquet towards the Seigaku side at top speed. However, even though it was crazy to try and go after it, Kikumaru was just too furious to let it go.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" he yelled.

In a daring acrobatics play, he lunged and barely managed to slice it back. The rogue ball whizzed back over the net and—

"HIKARU, LOOK OUT!"

Kaoru tackled his brother to the ground as the tennis ball whistled through the air where his head had been only micro-seconds before. The two of them landed on the court with a thud as the ball landed within their side of the court before noisily colliding with the chain link fence.

"Point, Seigaku!"

Eiji would have been thrilled if he wasn't so concerned about the person he had nearly injured.

"Oh my gosh! I'm _SO_ sorry, are you guys okay?"

"What were you thinking!" yelled a very riled Kaoru, "You could have given my brother a concussion—,"

"H-hey, don't sweat it," said Hikaru as he sat up shakily, "No worries, Kaoru. I'm fine, see? N-Not a scratch."

Settling down slightly, Kaoru checked his brother to ascertain if this was in fact true. After he was convinced, he sighed in relief.

"Don't ever make me worry like that again, Hikaru, do you hear me?" he said, hanging his head over his brother's, "I can't…I don't know what I would do if you were ever…"

Kaoru's breath hitched.

Hikaru's face flushed slightly, "So-…Sorry, Kaoru. Don't worry. I'm fine…I'm fine, see? I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm not…I'm never going to leave you…" He touched his forehead against Kaoru's. His brother sniffed and turned away, wiping his eyes. They were getting a little misty.

The (genuine?) moment of brotherly love was only slightly ruined by the squealing "Twincest" fangirls in the stands who couldn't get enough of this.

"Uh…are you two ready to get back to the match?" asked the ref.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," said Hikaru as he stood, wobbling a little. His brother eyed him yet again with concern.

Hikaru noticed this. "Don't sweat it Kaoru, I swear I'm good to keep playing, see?" he took his spot back on the court, then realized something.

"Whoops. I they know which is which now," he pointed motioned towards Eiji and Oishi, then winked at his brother, "We'll just have to throw them off our scent again, huh?"

"Right you are, bro."

Both Kikumaru and Oishi were strangely touched by the display of brotherly affection.

"S-sorry about before, Eiji. I really shouldn't have blown up at you like that."

"No, it was my bad. I shouldn't have gotten frustrated at you when you were doing the best you could."

"Let's not fight again?"

"Agreed,"

"Good," said Oishi.

"Now then…we still have a problem to deal with… how do we tell them apart?"

A small movement out of the corner of his eye caught Oishi's attention.

"You know I…I think I might have actually just figured it out."

Oishi began explaining his plan while Kikumaru nodded avidly. When he was finished, his partner's wicked grin could have put even Hikaru and Kaoru's to shame.

* * *

><p>The doubles match began again, only this time there was a drastic change in the flow of the game. Where before Seigaku couldn't score a point, they now seemed to be invincible. To everyone who watched, it was obvious Hikaru and Kaoru's charade had somehow been shattered.<p>

"It looks like they've noticed," Fuji murmured from the sidelines.

* * *

><p>Tamaki could only watch in horror as what had seemed like a sure victory for Ouran dwindled away.<p>

Suddenly, Seigaku was in the lead.

* * *

><p>In a last ditch effort, the real Hikaru attempted another cherry bomb. However, even after launching off his brother's back, he came up a few inches short and couldn't reach Oishi's moon volley. It sailed over his head and Seigaku scored their final point.<p>

"Game, Seigaku! 6-4"

"Yahoo!" said Eiji, jumping onto Oishi's back, "We did it!"

"Sure did," proclaimed Oishi proudly.

Hikaru's eyes were fixed to his shoes. Only a light pat on his back got him to look up.

"Don't worry about it, bro," said Kaoru, "You can't win them all."

"Yeah, yeah… It's just that no one's ever seen through the 'demon twins' ruse before."

"I thought you always wanted for someone to be able to tell us apart?"

"It's just…" he looked up in determination, "I have to know how they did it."

* * *

><p>The Golden Pair and the Hiitachin twins approached the net to shake hands again.<p>

"Alright, spill it," said Hikaru to Kikumaru, "how did you two tell us apart?"

Eiji scratched the back of his hear self-consciously, "Oishi should be the one to tell you. He figured it out, not me."

Hikaru's eyes went to the other regular who shied away from his gaze with a chagrined expression.

"Well uh…I'm not going to lie. I felt kind of guilty about using this against you two, but after you" he pointed to Kaoru, "tackled your brother to the ground earlier, I couldn't help but notice he was limping ever so slightly. Once I figured that out, I told Kikumaru and we always knew which was which."

"What!" Hikaru shouted, "I never knew I was limping!" He turned an accusatory glare on his brother. "What's the big idea not telling me Kaoru? _You_ musthave noticed!"

Now it was Kaoru's turn to look chagrined. "Yeah…I did. Sorry, Hikaru. I tried, I really tried, imitating you, but I just couldn't get the limp right. I didn't want to tell you about it though, because seeing how you tried to hide the fact that your leg was hurting in the first place, you would have just pushed yourself harder not to show it. And I didn't want you to end up hurting yourself more for the sake of the game."

Hikaru let out an exaggerated loud sigh. "Drat… But I guess I can't be angry at you." He wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder and gave him a side-long glance, cooing, "We'll just have to play a punishment game later. In any case," he turned his eyes back on Oishi and Eiji, "this isn't over. You guys played dirty—,"

Oishi and Kikumaru moved to protest—

"I like it. Once I heal up, I want a rematch. You two game?"

Kikumaru's eyebrows arched up mischievously. "You're on, twin punks! I'll be happy to beat you into the ground again."

"Puh-lease. I bet you couldn't beat an egg."

"Oh yeah? Well your mom—,"

* * *

><p>As the twins ducked back under the Ouran pavilion, they were met with a furious Tamaki.<p>

"HOW COULD YOU LOSE! YOU HAD THEM RIGHT WHERE YOU WANTED THEM AND—,"

"Aah… my leg!" Hikaru fake-swooned into his brother's arms.

"Oh no! Hikaru!" his brother cried pitifully.

"You're not fooling me with that act, meddlesome twins!" Tamaki exclaimed, fussing over them as they indulged in yet another "brotherly love" moment.

Haruhi walked over and handed each twin a water bottle. "Too bad you two lost," she said, "you played really well."

"Aaawww, thanks Haruhi!" they enveloped her in a hug, only pissing off Tamaki even more. "Say, isn't your match next? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Indeed," drawled Kyouya, "she'll be up against Seigaku's Kaidou Kaoru."

"Good luck short stuff," both twins patted her on the head. Tamaki moved to do the same thing, but she swatted his hand away in annoyance and grabbed for her racquet.

* * *

><p>"Nicely done, just what I expect from my Golden Pair," Ryuuzaki said to Oishi and Kikumaru, patting them on the back as they re-entered the Seigaku pavilion.<p>

"We were obviously very wrong to underestimate Ouran," said Oishi, "So far both of matches we've played have proven that although they're a little unorthodox at times, they're all very competent."

"Exactly," said their coach, "which is why we can't show the slightest bit of mercy. I want you to give it everything you've got in this next match," she turned to Kaidou, who was tightening his bandana.

"Fshuuuu…"

**END OF CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

><p><strong>Gaaraxluvr: Well that's a wrap! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter after the long hiatus that came after the last one. The match between the twins and the Golden Pair is probably the most interesting in my opinion. I wrote it a lot more serious, because unlike Honey and Mori, Hikaru and Kaoru are big-time competitors who really get into this kind of thing. Thus, writing more in the Prince of Tennis style for their match seemed more appropriate. I hope the action wasn't too hard to follow or didn't seem to go too quickly. I have more of a knack for writing about conversations than writing for the action scenes. <strong>

**Anywho, it's Haruhi VS. Kaidou next. Ooooh. Can't you just smell the drama waiting to unfold? Hopefully now that school's out for me, I'll get around to writing more often. **

**Please make sure to leave a review for the poor author. *feels like I'm begging for alms***


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